


sister, will you lend me all your strength? i’m bringing everyone home

by andthentheybow



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, BAMF Niki | Nihachu, Family Dynamics, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Minecraft IRL, Necromancy, Niki | Nihachu-centric, Reincarnation, Reunions, Team as Family, no beta we die like wilbur asking his father to stab him, now that's a tag we should be using more, there is. way more comfort than hurt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:26:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28296747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andthentheybow/pseuds/andthentheybow
Summary: after the war, things fall apart. three years later, niki resolves to make it right.
Relationships: Eret & Niki | Nihachu & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Floris | Fundy & Niki | Nihachu, Niki | Nihachu & Ranboo, Niki | Nihachu & Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Niki | Nihachu & Wilbur Soot, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson
Comments: 300
Kudos: 466





	1. it’s always colder on your own

**Author's Note:**

> don't be creepy about content creators, this is my interpretation of their personas, if they're uncomfortable it'll be taken down, etc etc
> 
> all titles are from various ricky montgomery songs
> 
> this idea stuck itself in my brain and wouldn't leave pogchamp

it has been exactly three years since wilbur pressed a button and destroyed his symphony.

in time, they’ve worked together to write another masterpiece. there is no one composer, no one conductor; they take turns. it’s enough.

niki is standing on the outskirts of their work. there are no fireworks, in honor of the lives lost to them; there is no celebration. it is a day of mourning, of remembering what happened, of remembering the chaos that unfolded when a city exploded. tomorrow there will be singing in the streets and they will rejoice, because they have rebuilt, but tonight, they are mourning.

in the aftermath of a world destroyed, it makes sense that pogtopia didn’t stick together, especially after tommy’s exile. the streets grew quiet. dream’s rule grew more oppressive. and one day, tubbo snapped, resigned his post, and took off in search of tommy. fundy was elected with niki as his vice, ranboo and more new faces serving as their cabinet. quackity formed his own nation, and eventually, he took some of his people and left, went far away from the death that hung thick in the air of l’manberg and the smp. he started another nation, a new nation, and as far as niki knows, he thrives.

eret, techno, phil- they all went to different worlds. phil returned to one of his hardcore worlds, and niki visits occasionally, but not enough. techno conquered a new empire and then left it, and then did it again, and again, and again, until there was a slew of worlds that have been conquered by the blood god but not ruled by him. eret found a world where the people are at peace, because if there’s one thing they needed it’s peace; they were made king and they live in a world that loves.

and niki is going to drag all of them home. even if it kills her.

there is one member of pogtopia unaccounted for, one member who has long since been gone. the people call him ghostbur and they say he haunts his streets, but niki knows the truth. that’s why she’s standing at his grave, fresh loaf of bread and bouquet of flowers in hand.

the people may not outwardly mourn their lost leader, but she does. she mourns wilbur. she doesn’t know if she’ll ever stop mourning wilbur. she sets the bread and the flowers down at his grave and she takes a deep breath and sits down.

“hey, wil,” she says, like she’s said every night, once a week, for the past three years. “how are you?” she does not expect a response. she never expects a response. because she knows the truth.

“i’m doing okay, i think. i miss everyone. fundy’s been doing his best, and i think you’d be proud of him. i know you’re around here somewhere, i just hope- i hope that even if you don’t talk to me, you’ll talk to him. someday.”

she adjusts the flowers slightly.

“i know you won’t talk to me. you haven’t yet, have you? i just think- well. i know phil’s been off-world for two years now, and techno longer than that, and i don’t even- i don’t even know where tommy is, which hurts most of all. he doesn’t respond to any messages, not him or tubbo or quackity, which is understandable, i guess. i just hope you’re with one of them, talking to them, making sure they’re okay.”

the bread is still warm. she can smell the flowers.

“because they all believe the ghostbur act, yeah? which is why you talk to them. and i know it’s an act. i know the perma-death cleared your head. you know exactly what you’ve done, wilbur, and instead of- instead of  _ facing it _ , you’re hiding. because you’re scared. you’re a fucking coward, wilbur soot, and you don’t realize that we’ve- that  _ i’ve _ \- already forgiven you.”

she takes a shaky breath. there are tears in her eyes. it’s the same speech she’s given him once a week for the past three years. just in case he’s listening.

“i think i’m going to reunite us,” she says. this part is new. maybe, if he is resting in his grave, it’ll pique his interest. “pogtopia. i’m going to bring them home. i’d like you to be there.”

she’s been thinking about it for a long time, about how she’d do it. and for the finishing touch, she’s been travelling around, searching for the three still on-world while scouring every library within a five-hundred-thousand block radius. she’s got a hidden bunker filled with every book containing every spell and potion and enchantment she might need.

“why?”

she knows that voice. it has been three years, but she knows that voice.

“you’re here,” she says softly, and she doesn’t turn around. she can feel a presence at her back, watching her, watching the bread and the flowers and the heavy sword she put on the ground when she sat.

“i’m always here. your speech is different. bringing them home?”

tommy described ghostbur’s voice to her, once. soft. scared. like a child, almost, someone who didn’t know his place in the world. this is not that, but this is not the crazed wilbur who blew up a country, either. this is wilbur, before, the one whose arms she jumped into when she first arrived in this world. this is wilbur, before, the one who led a war and tried to keep his son and brothers safe. this is wilbur, before, who was exiled from his nation and still left flowers on the doorstep of her bakery twice a week.

this is wilbur, and she knows him, and she loves him. so she turns and smiles and is greeted with the ghostly form of her best friend.

“yeah,” she tells him. “i’m gonna bring them home. a reunion, sort of.”

“you’re crazy,” he tells her. “and you want me to be there?”

niki is filled with rage, for a moment, that they’re not going to talk about the fact that he’s been avoiding her all this time, even though he’s been listening. she looks out to l’manberg, where she knows fundy is leading the people in memoriam of the hundreds who lost their lives to the tnt and the withers and the war of the leaders of the world.

“they’re mourning,” she tells him.

“they’re not mourning me,” wilbur scoffs.

“they’re all mourning you,” she corrects him. “yes. i want you to be there. it’s a reunion, isn’t it? we all miss you, wil. i miss you.”

he looks at her sadly. it’s been three years since she’s seen him. he’s exactly like tommy described him the one time she asked: the sweater that she knows is yellow, the beanie that she knows is red, the curly hair that she knows is brown. it’s all a light blue-grey now. he’s still tall, but he’s hovering in a kneeling position next to her.

“i know you’re not just saying that, because you’ve been here every week,” he says. “how’s fundy?”

“the best president he can be,” niki says with a smile. “i’ve tried to be a good friend, but it was hard at first. he was just so angry. at you. at techno. at the world.”

“i haven’t been haunting him,” wilbur tells her.

“maybe you should have been,” she replies.

they sit there for a while longer, both of them silent.

“thank you,” wilbur says eventually. “for trying to comfort me, even in death.”

“of course,” she replies, and she purses her lips. she’s not going to let him rest in peace for much longer.

she’s been collecting books, she’s been practicing her brewing and her enchanting. when she says she’s bringing everyone home, she means she’s bringing everyone home. even if she has to raise the dead to do it.


	2. there is something and there is nothing

“niki!” ranboo practically shouts. she startles, looking over to find the entire cabinet watching her expectantly. 

“sorry, i was zoning out. what’s…?”

“it’s alright, niki,” fundy says with a sad smile. she’s never explicitly told him about her trips to his father’s grave, but she’s sure he assumes by now. “we’re talking about the order of speeches for the celebrations today. i know you said you hadn’t decided- did you want to give one?”

“oh,” she says softly. “um.” what would she even say? she’s worked harder than anyone to repair their city lost, but right now her words are failing her, her mind occupied with the task at hand. she needs to talk to fundy about it, as soon as possible. “no, i don’t think so.”

“that’s alright,” fundy says reassuringly. “you don’t have to.” he turns back to his cabinet. “so we’ve got purpled, jack, ranboo, and then i’ll close it out. sapnap mentioned he might stop by on behalf of quackity-”

the cabinet erupts at this, everyone trying to talk over each other at once. niki and ranboo make eye contact across the table, green and red eyes meeting brown, both pairs darting toward the door in a silent agreement to talk about this later. once fundy has answered all of the questions (no, he didn’t hear from quackity himself; no, quackity didn’t actually say anything about anything, this is just sapnap; he has no idea if sapnap’s been in contact with quackity; seriously guys he doesn’t know stop asking these things), the cabinet disperses again as the final preparations for the day are made.

niki and ranboo hover toward one side of the room as fundy talks with the remaining members. ranboo hunches over so niki can talk without being overheard.

“i saw wilbur last night,” she says, and he nods, like he was expecting it. “we talked a little, but mostly we just sat there.”

“you fell asleep, didn’t you?” ranboo deadpans, and niki feels her face get red. he chuckles. “what’s on your mind?”

“it’s time,” she says simply. the only person she’s talked to about all of this is ranboo, who she’s come to see as a younger brother these past few years. ranboo blinks, trying to remember what it is she’s talking about, before realization dawns on his face.

“oh,” he says. “ _ oh _ . are you- you’re sure?”

she nods in response. “i was thinking we start with those off-world, just because i know where they are. we could probably bully sapnap into giving us quackity’s coords, but tommy and tubbo are going to be trouble.”

“and wilbur,” ranboo adds.

“and wilbur,” she agrees. “but we’ll deal with that problem when we get to it. i want to- no, i  _ need _ to ask fundy first.”

“right,” he agrees. the fox hybrid still has one or two people talking to him. ranboo shifts nervously and clears his throat.

“what?” niki asks.

  
“i’d like to come with you,” ranboo says quietly. “if you’ll let me.”

“i can handle myself, ranboo,” she giggles, and he backtracks quickly.

“no, no, no, i know you can, i just- i’m sure fundy would like it better, too, and if you end up-  _ y’know _ ,” he drops his voice lower than before, clearly referring to her planned attempts of necromancy. “i think it would be good if you had someone with you.”

she ponders for a moment, and then nods. she’d love to have him along with her. “of course you can come,” she says. “we’ll just have to make sure fundy knows we’re both going, then.”

they wait until the room is empty before approaching. the president lifts his hat and runs a hand through his hair before turning back to them with a tired smile.

“three years,” fundy says. “i can’t believe it’s been three years.”

“which is what we wanted to talk to you about,” niki says. “i- i’ve been thinking about it for a long time, and i think- i think it’s time we reunited.”

fundy looks surprised, but he covers it quickly. there’s a glint in his eyes; they’ve been friends long enough that fundy  _ knows _ her. he knows she’s been planning this, or at least something similar, even if she never said anything.

“ranboo asked to come with me, and i said yes, i just- i want to bring them here,” she continues. “i want to bring them home.”

“i mean, of course,” he says. “i would never try to stop you, i support this completely. what do you need from me?”

“oh,” niki says, slightly surprised. “just permission, i guess.” fundy reaches out and takes her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“just as long as you won’t be disappointed if some of them don’t want to come back,” fundy says. “plus, who knows how long it will take? that’s four different worlds the two of you are going to have to search.”

“i don’t know if you’re aware, fundy, but the members of dream’s world are pretty famous everywhere else,” ranboo chuckles, somewhat sarcastically. “i think it’ll be pretty easy to find eret and techno, at least.”

“the ones still here are the bigger problem,” niki says with a nod. “if you could- i don’t know. talk with sapnap and dream, maybe? and see if anyone knows anything? even rumors are useful at this point.”

“of course,” fundy says with a grin. “you have supplies and everything?”

she thinks of her hidden bunker, the books and potions and the enchantment table ready to go, and she nods.

“when are you leaving?” he’s giving her the look, the one that says  _ please stay for my speech _ , and she smiles.

“not until tonight,” she says. “no fireworks, yeah?”

“no fireworks,” he echoes, like it’s a mantra, like the fireworks represent something more than what they actually are. the people of l’manberg are strong. they have gotten through this. today is a day of celebration for a reason.

she finds puffy at the beginning of the festivities, the sheep hybrid beaming in that way that never fails to lift her spirits.

“i’m leaving tonight,” niki mumbles as she pulls puffy aside. “to find the members of pogtopia.”

“okay,” puffy says, supportive as always. niki could cry. “i’ll keep looking for the kids and quackity while you’re gone, okay?”

“thank you,” she chokes out, and puffy envelops her in a warm hug, the kind that leaves her heart feeling impossibly full.

the rest of the day goes by like a soft breeze. niki gives so many hugs and receives so many in return. half the time is spent at fundy’s side, half the time at ranboo’s and puffy’s. they are the three that understand her so deeply and intimately, her best friend and her brother and her partner, they are the three that she will do anything for.

and she thinks that bringing them home will make them happy. not just fundy, but all of them, even if they don’t realize it. it’ll make her happy, at the very least, and she deserves some damn happiness.

fundy gives his speech and she won’t hesitate to admit that she cries. he talks about friendship and love and rebuilding a nation after so much pain and bloodshed. they have been at peace for such a long time now, managing to eliminate all but the petty skirmishes they’re bound to get into from time to time, and he mentions that. how they are good, but can still become better.

he talks about symphonies. about unfinished melodies. about how his father would have wanted them to rebuild, and his father would be proud of them all. he talks about how l’manberg is a symphony they have all written together, this time, and it will be forever unfinished, just as wilbur said. it will be forever unfinished not because it was destroyed, but because they are still writing it, they will always still be writing it, as long as just one person breathes their symphony is unfinished.

“a wise man once said, ‘the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse,’” fundy concludes. “and here i am, a much less wise man, to say to all of you: our song goes on. whatever you want to contribute- a melody, a harmony, a lyric, a single note- we will continue to compose this symphony together.”

the crowd bursts into cheers. niki cries again. fundy thanks them and steps down and she hugs him tighter than she thinks she’s ever hugged him before. he is crying and she holds him tighter and over his shoulder, she thinks she sees the glimmer of a ghost on the edge of the crowd.

wilbur nods to her, and she smiles.

“he would be so proud,” she tells fundy.

“bring them home, niki,” he whispers.

and she knows she will.

the plan solidifies in her mind.

she smiles.

and she goes to dream, the god of the world, who had been watching the celebrations from a distance. he looks at her like he already knows what she’s going to say, and maybe he does, maybe he’s always known that they’d make it to this point. ranboo stands beside her, his crown removed in the presence of the true king. niki does not bow.

“they’re still whitelisted,” she says in lieu of a greeting. dream tilts his head to one side; he knows what she’s talking about. “i’d like to bring them back.”

“you’re going to have to find them,” he tells her. “i’m not reaching out.”

“i know,” she says. “i just need you to let them back in.”

he gives her a look. that isn’t all she needs from him.

there are few rules in dream’s world: no flying, simply because he thinks it’s overpowered. no letting anyone in that isn’t whitelisted, because he’s picky about that kind of thing. no killing the enderdragon; like every other world, this world has only one dragon, and that dragon is dream. this whole world is his treasure hoard. he will not let it go.

(once people are in his world, they are part of his hoard. it is not so easy to leave and never return. this is why she knows he will agree to let them back: he wants them here just as badly if she does, even if he would never show it.)

there is no rule against necromancy, against reincarnation. sure, there’s the three lives rule, but there are so many loopholes with that one that she’s already been thinking of how to exploit. based on the look on his face, dream knows it.

“i’m not going to stop you,” he says eventually.

“good,” she replies, and that’s that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments/kudos/etc validate & motivate me! thank you for the all the support on this work, i'm very excited about it and i hope you all enjoy! come vibe with me on twitter/tumblr if you'd like, @andthentheybow


	3. i think i found a place for us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> philza minecraft

the first one they go for is phil. not because he’s going to be the easiest to find, or the easiest to convince, but because if they have him, they have the others. if their father is coming home, they’ll know it’s time for them to do the same.

niki and ranboo have both gone through hardcore worlds, worlds where you get one chance and then you’re done, off to the next world, forced to leave everything behind. they’ve done it together, more than a few times, both before and after ranboo joined dream’s world. niki’s done it with phil once or twice, and she likes to think she knows his style.

she also likes to think that she’s close enough to him to be able to convince him to come back. if not for her, then for his sons, for techno.

_ ender _ , she thinks,  _ if he doesn’t do it for his children, he’ll do it for technoblade _ .

there’s a block of worlds all a few steps apart from each other in reality that everyone knows are phil’s. most of them are closed off, hardcore worlds that he’s died in. one is completely private, only his family whitelisted. the others are all unused, and it’s these that niki figures they’ll find phil in.

“so it’s just a matter of which one,” ranboo says, standing in the in-between, staring out at the multitude of worlds to choose from.

“or,” she says slowly, another plan formulating in her mind. she moves through the in-between, right to phil’s private world, his home world. and then she tries to get in.

instantly, she’s rejected. so she tries again. and again. and again. every time she gets rejected and thrown back to the in-between, and ranboo stands back and lets her go.

“i don’t think it’s going to-” he starts, and then she tries again and she’s thrown into the world.

it’s... homely, that’s for sure. the spawn point is set in the middle of a vast potato field situated in a valley, surrounded by mountains on all sides. there’s a quaint-looking cottage some distance away, and a very annoyed-looking hybrid standing directly in front of her.

“hello, niki,” phil says with a sigh. niki smiles up at him.

“hullo, phil!” she replies. he looks… older. more tired. she can’t blame him. “mind letting ranboo in?”

he sighs, and she can see him reach out to the in-between and pull ranboo through. the enderman hybrid coughs as he hits the ground hard, looking around.

“hello, mr. philza minecraft,” ranboo says stiffly. phil sighs again.

“what’s up, niki?” he asks. “care to explain why i’m vibing in a hardcore world and suddenly i feel someone trying to get into my home fifteen hundred times?”

“it was probably closer to ten,” niki corrects him. “and am i not allowed to want to check up on my friends?”

phil gives her a look. she blinks innocently at him.

“fine,” he huffs. “come inside. i can’t promise anything, i haven’t been here in a while.”

the inside of the cottage is just as quaint as the outside, albeit a bit dusty. phil pulls some bread out of a chest and offers it to the two of them with a look on his face that says  _ you show up unannounced, this is what you get _ . niki pulls (much more fresh) bread out of her bag and offers it to phil; he chuckles and tosses the old bread over his shoulder.   
  


“so,” he says as he takes a seat at the table. he sits in a position that clearly marks him as the patriarch of the house, at the head of the table. niki goes to sit across from him, and he clears his throat sharply. “that’s wil’s spot.”

niki looks down at the chair for a moment, as if considering, before moving to the next chair. phil nods approvingly of her new choice, then ranboo’s selection, and then leans forward with his arms crossed.

“what brings you here?” he asks. “i know you want something.”

ranboo and niki exchange a glance- he nods. this is her rodeo, as they say.

“we were-  _ i _ was wondering if you would maybe consider returning to dream’s world,” she says bluntly. phil looks unimpressed. “not indefinitely. but it’s now been more than three years since the manberg-pogtopia war, and i would like to reunite those who were on pogtopia’s side over the course of the rebellion.”

phil considers for a moment, and then grins and leans back. “i’m the first person you’ve asked, aren’t i?”

“i- yes,” niki admits. “how’d you know?”

“you would’ve brought the others to use their stupid kid eyes on me if you’d gotten them first,” he explains. “you know i can’t say no to them.”

“so if i give you puppy dog eyes, you’ll come back?” she asks, fully prepared to go there if she has to. phil sighs.

“no,” he says. “no, i’ll come back without them. i’ve been meaning to check up on my boys anyways.”

niki and ranboo exchange a not-very-discreet grin. phil smiles.

“one condition,” he says. “i’m not expected to stay longer than it takes to see everyone.”

“of course not,” niki says.

“that might take a while,” ranboo mumbles. phil gives him a look; he heard, but he wants ranboo to repeat it. the enderman hybrid does, adding on, “tommy, tubbo, and quackity are still on-world, but no one has any idea where.”

“still?” he asks, somewhat surprised. “i would’ve figured at least tommy and tubbo would’ve come back by now.”

“you said it yourself, we would’ve brought them with us,” niki says. “i feel like their puppy-dog eyes would be much more effective than mine.”

phil considers this for another moment, and then says, “am i even still whitelisted?”

“you are,” she confirms. this is going exponentially better than she thought it would.

“alright,” he says with a shrug. “do you want me with you for technoblade, or not? if i’m getting dragged back to that hellhole i’d like him with me too.”

“it’s not as much of a hellhole anymore,” ranboo offers. “it’s been mostly peaceful for a long time.”

“and how much of that has to do with most of pogtopia being gone?” phil drawls. “dream’s really okay with all of this? there’ll be fights.”

“it wouldn’t be a proper reunion without fights,” niki says. “but there’s not going to be another war. not if i can help it.”

phil and ranboo exchange a glance. niki knows, she  _ knows _ that there is a fire burning in her eyes; she is not bringing them back just to lose them again. she is going to make damn sure that everyone knows it.

“alright,” phil repeats. “techno?”

“it would be nice to have you, yes,” niki admits. she’s friends with him, sure, but friends enough to get the blood god to come somewhere without the promise of war? expect him to be peaceful? not even she, in all her good temper and righteous fury, could do that.

“good, then, i know where he’s been hiding,” phil says. “we’ve kept in touch, but i haven’t seen him since we left. it’ll be good.”

_ good _ , niki thinks, because the whole point of this is that it’s good for everyone else.

she wonders if she should talk to phil about wilbur; he is wilbur’s father, after all. she doesn’t really want to go around resurrecting his son from the dead only for him to get angry with her. she glances at ranboo, and he nods, obviously knowing what she’s thinking.

“oh, i know that look,” phil says, instantly sounding like a tired father. “it’s been a while since i’ve been around kids, but i know scheming when i see it. what’s going on?”

“you wouldn’t happen to have any resources about necromancy, would you?” niki asks. she has plenty, but it never hurts to have more. “or spare ghast tears?”

phil stares her dead in the eyes. “you’re not,” he says, more of a question than anything else.

“i’m going to,” she replies. “given that he’s okay with it.”

“ender,” phil curses. she waits for any further reaction, a rejection or approval of the plan; he gets up and moves up the stairs.

“that went well,” ranboo mutters. niki shushes him, grinning nervously. phil comes back down the stairs a minute later, a small vial clutched in his hands.

“tubbo’s the brewer of the house,” he says, handing her the vial. “that’s all the ghast tears we have.”

“thank you,” niki says, beaming.

“no resurrecting him unless he agrees,” phil says sternly, and she nods quickly. “right. let’s go find techno.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comment and i will give you a soft kiss on the forehead


	4. a place that you can't go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you guys so much for all the support on this, it means the world to me!!!

techno does not want to be found.

which makes their job difficult, honestly. phil takes them to the last place he thought techno was, some giant world with hundreds of thousands of people. the empire that techno conquered has expanded to take over nearly half of the world, but there’s no sign of the blood god himself.

“we thought he was just a legend,” one of the citizens of techno’s empire tells their group. “you know, like a myth? the blood god?”

“ender,” phil says when they’ve traded some potatoes for a hotel room for the night. why potatoes are a commodity here, niki can’t say, but they seem to be more valuable than gold. maybe it’s proof that techno’s been here.

after a few days they manage to get a solid trail for where techno might be, following rumors of a pig-headed predator living in the mountains. phil bets them three golden nuggets that techno’s found a valley to start a potato farm in; neither of them take the bet. while they travel, niki and ranboo tell phil stories about the new l’manberg, about fundy’s job as a president and all the things that have happened in his absence.

there’s another day or two of wandering in the mountains before they start to feel like they’re being watched. phil keeps one sword drawn at all times, niki keeps one hand on hers. they all get sick of it very, very quickly.

“how do we draw him out?” niki asks. “we know it’s him. does he just not know it’s us?”

they aren’t sure. the feeling of being watched follows them through the mountain pass. two days in, when they can see a snowstorm coming, they know they have to do something.

“guys, i have an idea,” ranboo says quickly.

“go for it,” niki encourages.

very, very loudly, he says, “damn, i really miss my parents. i can’t believe i’m officially an orphan now.”

“oh, sweet ender,” phil mutters under his breath. he looks amused rather than upset. niki has to cover her mouth to keep from laughing.

there’s a moment where nothing happens, and ranboo looks almost disappointed. then something drops down from the mountains above, landing hard on the path behind them.

“did somebody say ‘orphan,’” technoblade’s familiar voice says. he looks- not necessarily displeased, that they’re there, but he’s not thrilled to see them either.

“hey, mate!” phil says. phil  _ does _ sound excited, and niki can’t blame him. techno breaks into a wide grin and allows phil to hug him tightly. when he pulls back, techno completely surprises niki by hugging her, too.

“oh- hello!” she says, giggling. techno shakes ranboo’s hand and promises not to kill him, even if he’s an orphan, which ranboo seems grateful for.

techno leads them back to the place he’s been staying, a hidden valley where there is, to absolutely no one’s surprise, a huge potato farm. niki counts at least six levels, and techno looks somewhat sheepish as he sees her and ranboo staring at it with obvious awe. phil just shrugs.

“could be bigger,” he says, causing the group to laugh. techno’s house is much more lackluster, still a nice place, but nowhere near as awe-inducing as the potato farm. he gestures for them to sit down around the table, and he leans against the small counter next to his kitchen sink.

“alright, why’d you drag poor old philza minecraft out here?” he asks.

“i’m not that old,” phil retorts under his breath.

“recruitment techniques,” ranboo offers. techno raises one eyebrow.

“i’m sure you know it’s been three years and a few days now since l’manberg was blown up,” niki says. techno nods. “i’m- well,  _ we’re _ , now- reuniting everyone. trying to get everyone who was on pogtopia’s side home. not forever, just… just to check in.”

“really,” techno says, looking just as unimpressed as when he realized it was the three of them he’d been hunting.

“i miss you guys,” niki says meekly. “you know? none of you have been seen by anyone in dream’s world in a very long time, and i’d just- i’d like to check in on everyone. i figured we’d all want to check in on each other, too.”

“but there’s no fighting?” techno asks. he looks like he’s waiting for the other shoe to drop, and  _ oh _ , niki thinks,  _ he’s assuming we need him for another war _ . “tommy isn’t starting something else and needing my help?”

“nah, mate,” phil says. “she’s for real.”

“tommy hasn’t been seen since his exile,” niki shrugs. “tubbo hasn’t been seen since he left. after you left the world, eret did, too. quackity’s still on-world, but we have no idea where.”

“oh,” techno says.

“oh,” niki agrees.

techno considers, for a long moment. the rest of the room waits in tense silence.

“yeah, okay,” techno says eventually. “i can’t promise i’ll stay long, but i’ll come stop by. help you find tommy, at least.”

niki breaks into a wide grin. “thank you, techno.”

“yeah, yeah.”

techno moves around, grabbing the few materials he wants to bring with him, and they leave the world fairly quickly. it’s easy to move through the in-between and back to dream’s world, where all four are let in easily.

dream is waiting for them at spawn, hands shoved in his pockets. it’s dark outside, night in this world, though niki has no doubt that fundy is up late waiting anyways.

“hello, techno,” dream says formally. “philza.”

“dream,” phil replies, somewhat forced. “how’ve you been, mate?”

“fine,” dream snorts. “niki, you’re going to need to leave again, aren’t you? for eret?”

“yes, please,” niki agrees. “i’m just going to make sure they get settled first.”

dream nods, turns and walks back toward his world. techno and phil both take a moment to look around, to see how much has changed; they’ve expanded a lot, but they’ve made sure to keep the holy lands a neutral ground.

the walk back to the white house is quick. niki guides them to the meeting room, looking for fundy. the fox hybrid is up and pacing around, waiting for them to return, just as she suspected.

“fundy,” she says softly, knocking on the doorframe. he jerks up and grins when he sees her.

“niki!” he cries, keeping his voice quiet- it is the dead of night, after all. “how did it go?”

she turns to the side to show phil and techno both standing behind her, ranboo tapping his foot nervously. the last time fundy and phil saw each other, phil basically rejected fundy as a member of his family, so this will be… interesting. niki admits she didn’t exactly think this through fully.

“hey, gramps,” fundy says, and niki can tell he’s terrified.

“hey, kid,” phil says, holding out one arm. “i hear you’re making a pretty good president.”

fundy only hesitates for a moment before tentatively hugging his grandfather. they stand there for a moment, techno in particular looking extremely awkward, before the president pulls back.

“technoblade,” fundy says as a greeting, clearing his throat. he holds out a hand for techno to shake; the pig hybrid does. “the independent nation of l’manberg is pleased to welcome you both back for an indefinite amount of time, as long as you’d like to stay.”

“thank you, mr. president,” phil says. techno looks a bit uncomfortable- niki figures the government will do that to him, being the violent anarchist that he is- but based on the look being sent his way by phil, he’s not going to do anything. “is my- uh- house still here?”

“it’s been left untouched,” fundy confirms. “you’re welcome to stay there, or here if you’d like, we can prepare rooms for you.”

“the house should be fine,” techno says, and with that he turns around and starts stalking away. phil chuckles.

“we’ll see you around, niki, yeah? good luck with eret.”

“thank you, phil!”

phil turns and jogs after techno, and the three l’manbergians sag against the walls.

“ender,” fundy says. “they are both still terrifying.”

“i’ll say,” ranboo mutters. “niki, can we spend a night here? please?”

“of course,” niki says, laughing. she needs to visit wilbur anyways. “i’ll see you in the morning, okay? eret should be easy to find.”

“see you then,” ranboo confirms, hugging her tightly before heading off to his own home.

“you did good, niki,” fundy tells her. she sighs and runs a hand through her hair.

“i’m barely even started,” she tells him with a tired smile. “you should go to bed, fundy.”

fundy nods, and then hugs her as well.

“thank you,” he whispers into her ear, and she giggles and nods. he pulls back and waves, heading off to his own room, and niki waits for a moment to make sure he’s really going to bed before heading out of the white house.

she goes to wilbur’s grave, dead set on keeping her streak of weekly visits. she’s almost surprised, but not really, to find him waiting for her, watching the forest some distance away.

“hello,” she says politely. “how are you doing?”

he startles and looks over to her, offering a tired smile.

“i saw phil and techno,” he says.

“yes, i brought them back.”

“do you think i should talk to them?”

she knows what he means. should he talk to them as wilbur, rather than ghostbur. she shrugs.

  
“only you can make that decision,” she tells him. “but personally, i think you should.”

he nods, and they sit there for a while longer, and eventually watch the sun rise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comment and i will love you forever


	5. i’m sorry i’ve been gone and i’m-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy new year! :D

after the sun rises, wilbur disappears, claiming he wants to wait to talk to phil and techno until niki comes back with eret. niki agrees to be there as a mediator, and resolves to talk to him about the whole necromancy thing once he’s back on speaking terms with his father and sort-of brother.

niki and ranboo leave shortly after that, stopping just to say hi to puffy and a few other friends. it isn’t hard to find the world eret is currently living in- like ranboo said before they left, the members of dream’s world have risen to fame simply by proximity to the god-like figure. that and the fact that it’s notoriously difficult to get into dream’s world, and usually those let in are extraordinary in some way. they’re all famous or infamous, though with dream involved, there’s never much of a difference.

being the king-like figure that eret is, it’s no surprise that they’ve found a new crown. from what niki’s heard, their kingdom is called the kingdom of pride, focused on being inclusive and supportive of all people. it’s a place for the tired, the pushed-down, those who need rest and a shoulder to cry on. eret’s been providing that shoulder for the past two and a half years, apparently.

niki misses eret greatly. before all of the rebellions and wars, even throughout them, they were like siblings. it was the two of them and tubbo, forming their own bond; the traitors in manberg, the three who stuck together. she can’t even count how many picnics and day-trips the three of them went on.

even if wilbur didn’t trust eret or even like them, especially at the time when niki arrived, niki still became fast friends with them. she liked their messages of  _ you matter _ that continued even despite allegiances and wars and betrayals. wilbur wasn’t thrilled, but he was respectful of her choice in friends. (tommy was a different story, but he came around eventually, mostly once tubbo started hanging out with them too.)

either way, she views them as an older sibling, and she knows they view her as a little sister. it’s a nice relationship, and she’s hoping that it hasn’t changed.

she shouldn’t have been worried. the world they’re going to is open, available to anyone. they spawn in the middle of a bright, beautiful world, and the moment their communicators connect, eret messages her.

_ the_eret whispers to you: niki!!!! wait there!!!! _

she laughs and shows ranboo, who nods approvingly. at least three people come up to them while they wait, asking if they’d like to be shown around, to which they reply that they have someone on their way. not ten minutes later, they see a horse covered in diamond armor riding toward them, a familiar figure on its back.

the crown looks the same, the cloak looks the same- the one difference is that eret isn’t wearing sunglasses. their bright white eyes are clearly visible, glowing with power, and niki is filled with an immense sense of pride for her sibling.

“niki!” eret cries, leaping off the horse and pulling her into a tight hug. they lift her up and spin her around, and she laughs. they turn to ranboo and do the same- which is very difficult, considering that even with eret’s platform boots ranboo is still barely an inch shorter. “what are you doing here?”

“it’s a bit of a long story,” niki says. it’s not. she knows it’s not, and based on the look on their face, eret knows it too. but she wants to see where they’ve been all this time, and she knows ranboo would never miss the chance to see another well-built castle. “where have you been living?”

“the kingdom of pride,” eret says enthusiastically. “welcome, by the way! i’m king eret, and i’ll be your guide throughout our lovely streets.”

true to their word, eret gives them a complete tour, catching them up on every aspect of their life over the past two and a half years. in turn, niki and ranboo tell them about everything that’s been going on in dream’s world, leaving out the true purpose of their visit. they’ll get to that later.

the castle is huge, even larger than the pride palace back in the dream smp. eret gives them a brief tour before leading them to what appears to be the dining hall of the building.

“a common theme,” ranboo mutters. “convincing people in the rooms where they eat.” niki shushes him, desperately trying not to laugh. eret offers them food, which they both gratefully accept, and niki provides a batch of cookies she collected from puffy when they stopped by.

“oh, nether below, i’ve missed these,” eret practically moans, reaching for the cookies immediately. they sit around and chat for a while longer before eret’s gaze turns serious.

“i know you, niki, and i know the difference between a business trip and a vacation,” eret says. “what do you need from me? i’m ready to provide.”

niki can feel herself turning red, a little bit out of embarrassment that she’s so transparent. it’s not like she was trying to hide her intentions, but she has genuinely enjoyed the past few hours just spending time with eret and ranboo.

still, she’s here on a mission, and she’s not denying it.

“it’s been three years since the war ended,” she says. “more than that. we held our three-year anniversary celebration, and i’ve been thinking about it for a long time, and… we’re reuniting. everyone that was on the side of pogtopia, i mean.”

eret looks, genuinely, a bit surprised.

“sounds wonderful,” they say after barely more than a moment. “i’m in. when are we meeting?”

“really?” ranboo asks. “just like that?”

“just like that,” eret confirms. “there are plenty of people here to run my kingdom in my absence. so- how long should i plan on being gone?”

“well- we aren’t sure yet,” niki admits. “we just brought pihl and techno back yesterday. after you, we have to hunt down tubbo, tommy, and quackity.”

“so an unspecified amount of time, then,” eret says. “however long this takes, i’ll be there for all of it, niki. and it’ll be good to spend some time with fundy.”

eret never got around to officially adopting fundy, but the two still had a long talk before eret left. fundy gave his unconditional blessing for eret to leave; if he hadn’t, they wouldn’t have gone, and they made sure everyone knew it. niki is much more sure of how this reunion will go over phil and fundy.

“wonderful,” she says, and she means it. “it’ll be very good to have you back, eret.”

“yes, well, i’m not sure everyone will feel the same,” they say, waving one hand. their voice sounds completely unbothered, but their face says worry. “how does dream feel about all of this? he’s fine with it, i hope, considering that you’re at peace.”

“he’s fine with it,” niki confirms. “everyone important is going to be thrilled to have you back, eret.” 

they leave shortly after that, eret talking to a few people to make sure their kingdom will be kept running in their absence. 

this time, niki clutches one of eret’s hands and one of ranboo’s as they leave the world, then as they re-enter dream’s. this time, no one is waiting for them when they return, but it’s daytime, and plenty of people see that they’ve entered the world when their communicators connect.

_ itsfundy: ERET _

_ captainpuffy: welcome back!!!! _

_ purpled: big lad eret! _

_ ph1lza: hello! _

fundy must sprint through the entirety of l’manberg, niki thinks, with how quickly he makes it to the spawn point. she wonders what the citizens see, their president running as fast as he can after the return of the former king, former traitor, former revolutionary.

niki sees a father and son reunited as fundy leaps into eret’s arms, screeching. eret is laughing and spinning fundy around, and ranboo wraps an arm around niki’s shoulders, and she’s filled with a sense of overwhelming warmth. everyone that is supposed to be in this world is here.

now it’s just a matter of getting the rest of them back.


	6. some way, some day, you’ll know my name

everyone seems surprised, upon seeing eret, that they’re not wearing their sunglasses. they stand tall and proud, glowing white eyes gazing over the changes to the world, and they smile, unfazed.

niki has never felt more proud.

“i always hid them because i didn’t want to make people uncomfortable,” eret tells her. they’re sitting on the floor of their guest room in the white house. fundy and ranboo are on the bed, fundy sitting up, ranboo hanging upside down over it. puffy has her head in niki’s lap. “but i took some time to think about it and realized that they’re just a part of who i am. if people don’t like that, then it’s their problem.”

they’ve spent the past two days finishing tracking down any leads on tommy, tubbo, or quackity, and they have one left that sapnap brought to them when he stopped by to say hello to eret. they’re hopeful about this one, since the only ones quackity has kept in contact with, albeit infrequently, have been sapnap and karl.

niki hasn’t gone to see wilbur since they brought eret back- wilbur and eret never got along, and she’s been wanting to give him space. now, however, as they clear out of eret’s room, she decides she has to go see him.

she doesn’t even make it to the grave. he’s there the second she exits the white house, almost like he was expecting her.

“niki!’ he says, almost cheerfully. “how are you?”

“fine, thank you, wilbur,” she replies. “are you- are you ready to go talk to phil now?”

he doesn’t seem to get less cheerful. if anything, he looks excited. “yes, i’m- i’ve missed him a lot.”

“he’s missed you too,” niki says with a nod. “come on, then, let’s go.”

they walk together, niki catching wilbur up on the past few days. wilbur confirms that he doesn’t know anything about the locations of the missing three, and when she mentions eret, he doesn’t tense up once.

“i’ve made amends with what they did,” wilbur says with a shrug. “it was a long time ago, and they tried to make up for it. i was just being too stubborn to forgive them.”

and if niki hadn’t already been filled with an overwhelming sense of pride, she certainly is now. seeing everyone around her growing, bettering themselves- well, she can’t wait for them to all be reunited.

they make it to phil’s house and find lights on in practically every window, warm lanterns beckoning them inside. wilbur hesitates, but niki reaches out. he makes a move as if to take her hand, and his own hand passes right through. she smiles at him and he tries again, this time holding it steady next to where her hand rests in the air.

“come on,” she says, and she guides them forward and knocks on the door.

“just a minute,” phil calls, and the door opens a moment later. “niki! and-”

“hi, dadza,” wilbur says, his voice soft. not ghostbur, just- soft.

“wil,” phil says, practically beaming. he stares for a moment, then startles and steps aside, beckoning them in. techno approaches from around a corner, looking more hesitant upon seeing wilbur. “how have- uh- how have you been? i haven’t seen you around, i didn’t know if you knew we were back.”

“i knew,” wilbur admits. “i was- i was scared, dad.”

  
“why?” phil asks.

“ghostbur,” techno says, staring, trying to puzzle it out. “where’s ghostbur?”

wilbur looks to niki, who smiles back and nods encouragingly. he takes a deep breath.

“no ghostbur,” he says, his voice cracking. “it was an act, because i was- i was scared, i didn’t want to confront what i did, and-”

niki takes that moment to step outside, letting wilbur explain to his family. she doesn’t need explanations. she knows why he did it.

maybe ten minutes later, techno steps outside. niki’s staring up at the stars through the branches of the trees, painting it into a picture in her mind. he stands next to her and stares up with her.

“are you okay?” she asks.

“i’m okay,” he replies, and his voice sounds dangerously close to breaking. “wilbur and phil are having some alone time.” he doesn’t sound upset, he sounds… nostalgic, almost. incredibly fond. a bit fed-up. she thinks she gets it.

another ten minutes pass, and phil opens the door.

“niki,” he says. “it’s time.”

they go back inside. wilbur looks pleased. he’s sitting in one of the chairs around phil’s kitchen table- there are six chairs, even though niki doesn’t think there have ever been six people in this house, and her mind flashes back to a different kitchen table in a different world. a seat she almost sat in, a seat where wilbur is now.

she waits for techno and phil to sit down, and she slides into one of the empty seats. no one startles or looks at her weird, so this must not be tommy or tubbo’s spot.

“wilbur,” she says. “what if… what if there was a way we could bring you back?”

“what do you mean? i am back, i’m here-”

“no, i mean… i mean back, back.”

the two of them stare at each other for a moment, the only two people in the world.

“like... alive?” he asks. “do i deserve that?”

“well... i don’t think we can take back the final control room,” niki says. she glances to phil. “or your last death. but when punz killed you on schlatt’s orders… i think that was pretty unfair.”

“so you can bring me back,” wilbur says slowly. “make me… alive again?”

“yes,” niki says with a nod. “i’ve been researching it for a while, and i believe i can. i  _ know _ i can. but only if you’ll let me.”

he seems to be considering it. there’s complete silence. nobody dares move.

“so when you said you were  _ bringing everyone back _ … you really meant it.”

“i really meant it,” she confirms.

“how? how would you- necromancy? would dream even let you?”

dream would let her. she knows why.

“i’ve got a secret base, where i’ve been preparing. studying. i’ve got enchantments, potions, the works. i’ve spent- well, i’ve spent months, honestly, studying all of tubbo’s notes on potions, and i managed to make a stronger regeneration potion. that’s why i asked you for the ghast tears, phil. and i’ve got a trident with channeling for- for lightning, and overall, it’s- i think it’ll work. i  _ know _ it’ll work.”

wilbur’s staring at her. phil and techno are staring at her, too, because nowhere in there are there any certainties, there’s no guarantee, and phil and techno don’t know what she’s planning. dream does, even if they’ve never discussed it explicitly; there are things that the god of the world  _ knows _ , and this is one of them.

“niki,” wilbur says slowly. “would dream even let you?”

“dream would let me,” she says. “i’ve talked to him about it. he said he’s not going to stop me. look, i’ve- i know it sounds crazy. i’m no frankenstein, with the lightning and everything, but- the lightning works on its own, it- it can restart a heart. the potion i’ve created brought- it brought a fox back from the dead. and i’ve got spells, so many spells, for giving your ghost a solid form, and- wil, you know me. i don’t say things i don’t mean.”

and she’s right. she’s right, and she knows it, this is her selling point. she can’t tell them the final step, the step that made dream agree to all of this, not yet. she will, she promises herself, she will. she’s not going to trick wilbur into doing this. but that’s a problem for when they actually get to it.

“so you could really do it?” wilbur asks.

“i could.”

more silence. wilbur looks back and forth between phil and techno; phil is impassive, and techno is expressive, for once, a clear contrast between who they normally are. techno clearly wants wilbur to take this opportunity presented to him, he has nothing to lose. phil’s face is blank; he’s letting wilbur make this decision for himself.

“i- yes,” he says. “yes, please, i think- i think i’d like another chance. even if i don’t deserve it.”

phil looks pleased. techno grins.

“but i want a little more time to think,” he says. “just- after everyone else is back.”

  
“after everyone else is back,” niki confirms, and she’s beaming. she’s bringing them all back. she’s bringing them  _ all _ home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> vibe with me (please)
> 
> [ twitter ](https://www.twitter.com/andthentheybow)
> 
> [ tumblr ](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/andthentheybow)


	7. tell me the truth or tell me you’re through

the next day. they’re following their final lead from sapnap, just a set of coords and a direction. 

up.

_ you whisper to quackity: we are coming for you. _

there. now he’s prepared. he hasn’t said anything over the communicators in a long time- at least, not to anyone in l’manberg. niki doesn’t expect a reply.

she and ranboo go to the coordinates. they don’t want to bring too many people, don’t want to scare quackity off, so eret and puffy are going to continue looking for tommy and tubbo. they arrive at the point nearly fifty thousand blocks from spawn a few days later and follow sapnap’s directions; they look up.

there’s nothing there. they’re in a grassy plain, and there’s nothing above them.

“great,” ranboo snorts.

niki checks their coords again, studies it for a moment.

“maybe he means up, like… we just take the other coords and go up?” she suggests.

“like, a diagonal line?” ranboo asks, and then shrugs. “that could work.”

so that’s what they do. they keep moving. for nearly three more days, they keep moving. they’ve set up camp for the third night since they left the coords, the sixth night since they left l’manberg, when wilbur materializes next to her.

niki screams. ranboo draws his sword, sees it’s wilbur, and mutters something about ghosts before going back to starting a fire.

“hi,” niki says, one hand over her heart. wilbur grins sheepishly.

“hi,” he says. “you didn’t visit me this week. i figured i would visit you instead.”

“oh,” she says, and she grins back at him. “did you teleport here?”

“i floated really fast, eret pointed me this way. just wanted to say hi- how are you doing?”

“i’m good, wil, thank you. i’ve got a good feeling about this, i think we’re getting close.”

wilbur nods and continues chatting to her about stories from phil, a few of which she’s already heard, but she listens with interest. after an hour or two he tells them he’s going to head back to phil.

“wilbur,” ranboo says quietly, before he leaves. “have you talked to fundy yet?”

wilbur pauses and turns back. there’s an expression on his face that niki can’t read. ranboo immediately pales.

“it’s just- i know he really wanted to talk to you, and you finally talked to phil, so-”

“yeah,” wilbur says slowly. “i talked to fundy.”

“how’d it go?” niki asks softly.

“good,” wilbur says, breaking into a smile. “it went really well. i don’t think- i don’t think i’m entirely forgiven yet, and i don’t deserve to be, but we’re working toward it.”

“that’s good,” niki says. “that’s really, really good, wilbur!”

“i know,” he says. “my son-” he cuts off with a sappy smile, and niki and ranboo exchange a grin. “i’ve got to head back, maybe i’ll- i’ll talk to him again, tell him you said hi.”

“that’d be good, thank you,” niki says. “take care of yourself, wil.”

“i’m a ghost,” wilbur reminds her.

“not for long.”

it’s not long after that he goes, leaving niki and ranboo in silence.

  
“he said yes, then?” ranboo asks. “about the necromancy thing?” niki nods, and ranboo nods back. “did you tell him about-”

“not yet. but i will.”

“okay.”

the next day around noon, they stumble upon a small house. it’s in the middle of a forest, so it’s clearly not a witch’s place, and there’s no village in sight. just a lone cottage, three stories tall. both ranboo and niki wait in the trees for a moment, for anything to happen. nothing does.

“go slow,” niki whispers. “move around the back. just in case.”

there’s a parkour course and a pool in the back. niki feels like she shouldn’t be surprised.

“i thought quackity was running a new nation?” ranboo asks. niki shrugs. if he decided to build a house in the woods instead, she can’t really blame him. after everything they’ve been through, ender knows she’d like some peace and quiet instead of running a nation.

not that she doesn’t love being vice president. but politics get tiring after a while.

“do you wanna go up there, or should i?” niki asks. ranboo gives her a look.

“i feel like you definitely should,” he says. “i’ll- i’ll stay back.”

she nods, steels herself, and approaches the door. nothing happens as she walks through the small clearing, takes a deep breath, and knocks. there’s silence for a long moment. she shouldn’t be surprised, quackity is probably out, it’s the middle of the day-

“it’s open, dude, i thought you weren’t coming back until later-”

niki freezes. the door opens.

“niki?”

“tubbo?”

and she’s staring at her little brother, who’s got an apron on and is covered in flour and batter, and he’s staring back at her, eyes darting around to the sword at her side and ranboo in the trees behind her and then back to her face.

“what are you doing here?” he asks, and he sounds almost panicked. “how did you-”

“ _ tubbo _ -” she chokes out again, and he must see something in her eyes because when she jumps forward he collides with her, hugging her tight. “you’ve grown.”

he’s taller than her now, just barely. she kind of hates it.

“yeah,” he says, laughing as he pulls back. “i have. still shorter than tommy, though.”

“tommy? is he-”

there’s a sudden shout and the clanging of metal behind her. she turns back to see ranboo with his sword raised, blocking the strike coming from the man that is very clearly tommy. just like tubbo, he’s three years older, but it’s still clearly him.

“tommy!” tubbo shouts. “it’s okay, it’s-”

“ranboo?” tommy asks incredulously, lowering his sword. he turns toward tubbo. “ _ niki _ ?”

“hey, tommy,” niki says, opening her arms carefully. tommy considers for a moment before dropping his sword and diving forward. he picks her up and she laughs, and ender, it feels good to be back with her two boys. it feels right. she was like a sister to these two, the only damn caring figure that they had when it came down to it, and she’s  _ missed them _ .

“what are you doing here?” tommy asks.

“come inside!” tubbo interjects. “both of you, i just finished a batch of cookies-”

ranboo hands tommy his sword, and tommy grins. they’re ushered inside and given cookies and milk, which tommy tells them is from a cow called henry the second.

“only female cows give milk, tommy,” ranboo points out.

“yes, and her name is henry the second, ranboob,” tommy replies.

before even asking what they’re doing there, the two tell them about how this all went down- about a year after tommy’s exile and tubbo’s resignation, the two stumbled upon each other.

“we had a bit of a friends to enemies to back to friends arc going on,” tubbo says jokingly. “because he tried to kill me.”

“i didn’t know who you were, bitch!” tommy retorts. “we’ve been over this!”

eventually, they talked, both apologized, both forgave each other, and both had several long discussions on whether they were going to go back or not. they chose not. and niki can’t blame them.

“i wanted to let you know,” tubbo tells her. “but we both decided to put our communicators away. they’re in an ender chest upstairs with our compasses and some other things from- things from the past.”

“so you don’t know,” ranboo says, eyes wide. he looks to niki, who motions for him to stop- she’ll explain.

“know what?” tommy asks, narrowing his eyes.

“do you know what happened after tubbo’s resignation?” niki asks softly. tubbo and tommy exchange a glance, communicating with their eyes- ender, she’s missed this. she’s missed the two of them being on their own wavelength, even when they were on opposite teams.

“we know that phil, techno, and eret left,” tubbo says. “but we don’t know why.”

“techno decided there wasn’t anything left for him in this world, so he took off,” niki explains. “phil- with his sons gone, he left too. eret wanted peace, and they knew they wouldn’t find it here. quackity- quackity took off, two years ago, maybe, and as far as we know he’s running a nation. very far away. we thought we were coming after him right now, actually.”

they exchange another glance and have another conversation with their eyes. this one lasts longer.

_ ranboo whispers to you: i feel left out of something _

niki tries not to laugh as she looks at her communicator under the table.

“we knew that, actually,” tommy says. “he visits once a month. why- why are you looking for him?”

“phil, techno, and eret are all back,” niki says quickly. “on-world. pogtopia is reuniting. and i’d like you to be there, too.”

this seems to catch them both off guard.

“no,” tommy says immediately.

  
“tom-” tubbo starts.

“no, we left to get away from the fighting, we’re not fighting again-”

“we’re not fighting,” niki says quickly. “we’re- the world is completely at peace, tommy. it’s a peaceful reunion, because i- i miss you guys. i miss you guys a lot.”

this seems to relax tommy, but he still doesn’t look any closer to saying yes.

“tommy,” tubbo says again. tommy’s protective look goes impossibly soft.

“we’ll talk about it,” tommy promises. “if you’re looking for quackity, keep going northeast. you’ll hit his village eventually. you can- you can stop by on the way back, and we’ll have an answer for you. how’s that?”

“that’s good, tommy,” niki says. “take your time.”

“would you like to stay the night?” tubbo offers meekly after a moment. “we have an extra bedroom, we made it just- just in case. and we have a couch. you could spend the night.”

niki glances to ranboo, who’s looking at her with pleading eyes.

“of course,” she says brightly. which is how she finds herself watching tommy and ranboo attempting the parkour course in the backyard, over and over again, while she and tubbo throw flour at each other while making another batch of cookies.

“i’ve never been able to get your recipe right,” tubbo tells her. “i’ve missed your cookies.”

so they make her cookies, and eat nearly half the dough, and while the cookies are baking and they’re laughing at ranboo as he falls into the water over and over again, niki turns to tubbo and says, “are you happy here?”

tubbo seems startled, glancing at her, and his gaze softens when he notices the concern in her eyes.

“yes,” he says after a moment. “don’t get me wrong, i miss you, and eret, and fundy, and- and everyone, really. but i’m happy here.”

“you and tommy both?”   
  


“tommy hasn’t had a nightmare in three months. i haven’t had a panic attack in six weeks. and that’s- that’s really, really good. we got to live out the rest of our childhood as kids, and we started adulthood happy, at  _ peace _ -”

“and you deserve to stay at peace,” she says firmly. “i’m not going to pressure you into coming back. but just know- it wouldn’t be permanent. just for a little bit, just to check in, because i miss you all and i know you all miss each other too. but if you choose not to, i won’t hold it against you.”

“thank you, niki.”

“i will be coming to visit, however,” she says, reaching over and grabbing his hand. “if you’ll have me.”

“we’d love to,” tubbo replies with a beam.

the timer on the cookies goes off. tubbo goes inside to bring them out, and niki feels her communicator buzz in her pocket. she pulls it out and isn’t prepared for what she sees.

_ quackity whispers to you: i’ll be expecting you, then. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comment for platonic forehead kissies
> 
> [ twitter ](https://www.twitter.com/andthentheybow)
> 
> [ tumblr ](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/andthentheybow)


	8. but who put these waves in the door?

niki and ranboo leave the next morning, continuing to head northeast. tommy tells them quackity’s nation is about half a day’s walk, and that they’ll be expecting niki and ranboo back soon. they’ll have a decision then, he says. tubbo, it seems, has already made up his mind, based on the way he rolls his eyes at tommy.

by the time the sun is at its highest point in the sky, niki and ranboo find themselves on the top of a hill, overlooking a huge, sprawling village. there’s one house that’s distinctly larger than the rest, and they assume that that’s where they’ll find quackity.

the villagers stare at them as they make their way through the streets. none of the looks are judgemental, just curious- they probably don’t get many strangers, niki thinks. by the time they make it to the large house, there’s a small trail of people following them, all pretending to be doing other things. niki thinks it’s flattering.

“do we just knock?” ranboo asks. niki shrugs in response. she leans closer to the door and she can hear talking from inside. she’s about to knock, but the door opens before she gets the chance.

quackity is beaming at them, leaning up against the doorframe. he’s got a familiar beanie shoved over his hair, and he looks older. which, yeah, it’s been two years since niki last saw him, of course he looks older. but he looks happier, too, which she supposes is really, really good.

“my friends!” he says brightly. he looks past them to the small crowd of villagers. “it’s okay, guys, they’re with me!” the crowd mumbles and disperses, and he looks to niki and ranboo apologetically. “sorry, they’re not used to strangers that aren’t sapnap or karl. come on in, come in, i’m assuming you have a reason for being here-”

he closes the door softly behind them, glancing around the room. the entire first floor seems to be a giant lounge area, books spread out on every surface. niki is looking forward to having this conversation not sitting at a kitchen table, honestly.

“make yourselves at home, it’s good to see you guys-”

ranboo spreads himself out sideways on a large couch, and quackity laughs as he settles into an armchair. niki sits down primly on top of ranboo’s legs.

“hey!” ranboo protests, and quackity roars with laughter. niki gets up and ranboo moves his legs so she can sit next to him.

“alright, alright,” quackity says. “catch up later. what do you want, first?”

“so we’re cutting right to the chase, then,” ranboo mutters good-naturedly, and quackity laughs again. niki can’t remember the last time she heard him laugh this much.

“we’re having a reunion,” niki says. “pogtopia. it’s been more than three years since l’manberg was blown up, and i miss you guys, so i’m reuniting us.”

“cool,” quackity says with a nod. “and this includes me?”

“i- yeah, of course it does. i miss you, other people miss you, and frankly, it’s- it’s really good to see you, quackity.”

“it is,” ranboo echoes. quackity’s smile softens.

“it’s good to see you guys, too,” he tells them. “as for coming back, i- i don’t know. there’s a lot of bad memories there. i’d have to think about it.”

“there’s a lot of good memories, too!” a voice yells from up the stairs. quackity’s eyes widen in obvious panic. niki and ranboo exchange a glance.

“who’s that?” niki asks. “we heard you talking to them before we came in.”

“it’s- uh-” quackity starts, then cuts himself off. “so, funny story, actually.”

“we’re not gonna judge,” niki says, ranboo rushing to echo the sentiment. quackity sighs.

“get down here, you piece of shit,” he calls, and a ghost materializes directly behind him.

it’s schlatt.

“oh,” niki says.

she is not bringing schlatt back to life.

“is that-” ranboo starts.

“yup,” quackity nods, grimacing. “he started hanging out right after i left.”

“well, i didn’t exactly have anywhere else to go,” schlatt retorts. “wilbur won’t talk to me, i don’t have any other ghost friends, tubbo ignores me, and you actually recognize that i’m here.”

“no  _ shit _ tubbo ignores you,” niki snaps, and then covers her mouth with her hands. “i’m sorry, i didn’t mean to be rude-”

schlatt and quackity are both laughing.

  
“you can be rude, if anyone deserves it it’s you,” schlatt tells her honestly. “i was kind of a dick.”

“you still are a dick,” quackity tells him.

ranboo mutters something about ghosts. schlatt ignores him.

“you’re planning something with wilbur, aren’t you?” he asks niki. “you’ve got the vibes of someone that’s been with ghosts too much.”

“i mean,” niki starts. what can she say? wilbur hasn’t said anything about reading people’s auras, but based on the way schlatt is looking at her, he’s doing exactly that. “yeah. i’m planning on bringing him back to life.”

she doesn’t say how. schlatt looks like he already knows.

“good,” he says. “guy deserves it. i’m assuming you don’t want me coming back for the reunion?”

“absolutely not,” quackity says. “you can come with, but you’re not materializing, you hear me?”

“so you’ll be there?” ranboo asks, perking up.

“yeah, yeah, i’ll be there. i can’t promise i’ll stay for long-”

“you don’t have to,” niki reassures him. “i’m pretty sure phil and techno are leaving the second the reunion is over, and eret’s not staying for long, either.”

“oh, yeah, i saw they were back. did you- did you talk to tommy and tubbo?”

“we did,” she confirms. “they’re thinking it over. they told us they’d have an answer tomorrow when we got back.”

“oh, so you think you’re staying in my house tonight?”

“yes,” ranboo deadpans.

“yeah, alright, i’ll let you stay here. guest rooms are upstairs, make yourselves at home, you guys want a tour of this little village i’m leading?”

“it’s not very little, quackity,” niki points out, and quackity laughs.

“no, i guess it’s not.”

“how’d you even end up here, anyways?” ranboo asks.

“me,” schlatt cuts in, floating around the three of them lazily. “i told him if he wanted power so bad, he should just take it.”

“that is  _ not _ what happened,” quackity cuts in. “their golem died so i saved them from a bunch of zombies, they made me their leader after that.”

“i still say it was all my influence,” schlatt says haughtily.

“it wasn’t,” quackity says, shaking his head. “it really, really wasn’t.”

he shows them the guest room- “just one, because sapnap and karl are really the only ones who visit and they normally end up with me anyways, the simps.” they set their stuff down, and ranboo catches niki’s wrist.

“how do we feel about schlatt?” he asks.   
  
“quackity has more reason than most to hate him,” niki says slowly, carefully, because she’s trying to figure out how she feels, too. “and if quackity’s okay with him, they must have made amends somehow. so as long as he doesn’t interact with anyone else, i think it’ll be fine. you never knew him, so just- don’t get too close, i think.”

ranboo nods. “and how do  _ you _ feel about schlatt?” he asks carefully. niki shudders a little bit.

“he did almost kill me,” she says. “several times. we were never on the best terms-”

“by which you mean fucking awful terms,” ranboo interrupts, and she gives a shaky laugh.

“yeah,” she says. “we were on pretty bad terms. i don’t want him around tubbo or tommy or wilbur, at all, but if quackity can forgive him, i can tolerate him.” her voice is cold, and it surprises even herself. ranboo doesn’t look all that surprised, however.

“as long as you’re okay,” he says, holding out his arms. she lets him hug her tightly, and she smiles.

true to his word, quackity shows them around his village. the people seem to adore him, and they don’t seem all that surprised to see the ghost by his side. if anything, they seem to think he’s funny, a few children racing around his feet. schlatt looks like he hates it. quackity thinks it’s hilarious.

“i’ve missed you guys a lot,” quackity confesses to her while a few kids are preoccupying ranboo and schlatt. “i think it’ll be nice to come back.”

“it’ll be nice to have you back,” niki says truthfully. “really nice.”

looking at schlatt makes her miss wilbur. soon, she tells herself. soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ twitter ](https://www.twitter.com/andthentheybow)
> 
> [ tumblr ](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/andthentheybow)


	9. chasing that horizon in our eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> today's streams fucked me UP holy crap
> 
> have some fluff :)

the way back from quackity’s country seems much shorter than the journey there. maybe it’s because quackity gets them horses- okay, it’s definitely because quackity gets them horses. either way, the trip seems lighter. they continue to catch up, and niki allows herself to think about schlatt, who’s been materialized more often than not.

it’s not that she hates schlatt. she certainly  _ did _ hate schlatt, when everything was going down. but these days she doesn’t think about him much. it’s been more than three years since his death- she doesn’t have any need to think about him, other than the nights where she wakes up screaming from dreams about the times he nearly killed her.

so, okay, she still hates him a little bit. she hates him because fundy still has anxiety attacks about the times he felt like an awful son. she hates him because of what he did to her best friend, because of the legacy he left behind, the curse on the presidency that she and fundy managed to break.

and sure, she thinks he’s fine as a person. she heard enough from everyone at his funeral- tubbo, fundy, and quackity specifically- about how conflicted they felt about him. about how he acted as a father figure sometimes and an asshole others. she didn’t see much of the kinder side of him, mostly because she made sure the second he exiled wilbur and tommy he knew he had made an enemy of her, so she couldn’t attest to that. she  _ could _ attest to the fact that he was a terrible president and kind of a dick.

alright, then. she doesn’t really like schlatt. fine. but he’s been making quackity laugh and he hasn’t gone further than teasing when ranboo can’t remember things and he’s avoided her, which she really appreciates. and he’s promised that he won’t materialize around tubbo and tommy, or anyone else in l’manberg, which she also appreciates.

they’re maybe halfway back to tubbo and tommy’s home when she finally talks to schlatt. ranboo and quackity are riding ahead of them, joking about something, and she falls back a bit just to enjoy the ride. schlatt floats next to her, somehow able to keep up with the horse easily. for someone whose best friend is a ghost, she doesn’t know much about ghost mechanics, she thinks, and then she remembers that wilbur wasn’t talking to her up until a few weeks ago.

“hello,” she says quietly. schlatt startles, looking at her like he’s surprised she’s talking to him.

“hey,” he says cautiously. “what’s, uh, what’s hanging?”

he sounds terribly nervous. she tries not to laugh.

“i’m good, schlatt,” she tells him, and she’s not lying. she’s seen everyone she almost didn’t think she’d ever see again. she’s going to bring wilbur back. she’s on a horse and her best friends are waiting and everything is going to be okay. “i’m really good.”

“that’s good, niki,” schlatt responds, and it’s the most sincere she thinks she’s ever heard him. “that’s really good.”

there’s silence for a few minutes. schlatt looks like he wants to say something. niki doesn’t push him.

“i’m sorry,” he says eventually, quietly. “i’m- y’know. i’m very sorry. for everything.”

it’s clear he has more he wants to say. she waits for him to continue.

“i’m sorry for everything i did to hurt you. and i’m sorry for the things i did to hurt everyone else, and i know i should be saying that to them, but i know what you’re like. you’re probably more mad at me for the things i did to them than the things i did to you. so i’m sorry. i just- i felt like you should know that.”

he’s silent, and he’s looking her dead in the eyes. she appreciates that most of all, that he holds her piercing gaze while he apologizes. she nods to him, slowly.

“thank you, schlatt,” she says. “i’m not sure if i quite forgive you. not yet, at least. but thank you.”

“i don’t expect you to,” he tells her honestly. “ever, if i’m being honest. i just needed you to know.”

she smiles at him, and he smiles back, shakily. they’re not friends, and she hasn’t forgiven him, and she’ll certainly never forget. she’s protective by nature, and she doesn’t think she’ll forgive him unless everyone else forgives him. but she’s also kind by nature, so even if they’re not friends, she’ll be friendly.

she tells quackity that when they set up camp for the night. ranboo is trying to start a fire with schlatt looking over his shoulder, and quackity is feeding the horses while she pets them calmly.

“you’re a better person than the rest of us, niki,” quackity tells her, shaking his head in slight disbelief.

true to his word, schlatt de-materializes when tubbo and tommy’s house is in sight, halfway through the next day. it’s just her, ranboo, and quackity approaching, and they see tubbo and tommy both racing the parkour course in the back.

“big q!” tommy screams when he sees them, causing tubbo to immediately fall into the water. tommy dives in right after, and quackity jumps off his horse and rolls when he hits the ground. niki and ranboo both cry out, but he’s up and running to leap into the water to lift the two up.

“you’d think you hadn’t seen us in years,” tubbo says scathingly, but he’s grinning. niki and ranboo actually slow the horses down before they climb off and then rush over to where the other three are still in the water. ranboo looks at her mischievously and then shoves her in. she shrieks, nearly landing on top of quackity, and ranboo cannonballs in after her.

all thoughts of everything else are completely discarded as someone starts a splash-fight, and then they’re all in their clothes, in the water, laughing and screaming and having fun. niki’s heart feels so full she thinks it might burst. this is how they should have been living a long time ago- she’s glad they get to have it now.

nearly two hours later, once they’re all dry and given spare clothes and gathered around a freshly-cooked meal, niki brings up the reason she’s able to be here with them.

“have you thought about it at all?” she asks, and she knows they know exactly what she’s talking about. tubbo and tommy exchange a glance, doing their silent communication thing, and tubbo’s the one that speaks.

“we’re coming back,” he says firmly. 

“we can’t promise that we’ll stay long,” tommy adds. “but we’d like to see everyone.”

niki beams at them. ranboo and quackity exchange a grin.

“i’m glad to hear it,” she says. “you don’t need to stay. you can just say hi and leave, if you want, or watch from a distance, or-”

“niki,” tubbo says gently, a soft smile on his face. “you’re not forcing us to do anything.”

and wow, she didn’t even realize she needed to hear that. she takes a deep, steadying breath, and her smile remains firmly on her face.

“right,” she says. “then, i should let you know- wilbur and i have talked. and i’m planning on resurrecting him.”

and that’s clearly a new development for the two, based on the wide-eyed look tommy gives tubbo. niki can see the rapid communication flashing between their eyes.

“you’ve talked about it with him?” tubbo asks. “and you know what you’re doing, you’re- you’re certain?”

“i’m certain,” niki confirms. “if you want to help me brew some potions, tubbo, you know i trust you with that over anyone else- but i’m certain. i’ve discussed it with dream and everything.”

“discussed is a loose term,” ranboo mutters, to light chuckles from around the table.

“well, that’s between the two of you, then,” tommy says, looking like he’s just come to a decision. “is he… how is wilbur?”

“he’s good,” niki says, with no hesitation. “he’s really good. and you’ll see him soon enough.”

“i will,” tommy says, grinning at all of them. “i will, won’t i?”

it took them seven days to get to tommy and tubbo’s house from l’manberg; with the horses, it takes them three days to get back. she and ranboo ride at the front, leading the way, the compass she’s carrying leading to a lodestone in the white house. quackity rides behind them, tommy and tubbo taking the back, even though most of the time when there’s enough space they’re all just riding next to each other.

she messages phil right after they leave. he responds almost immediately.

_ you whisper to ph1lza: we are on our way _

_ ph1lza whispers to you: bring them home _

the countless biomes of the world still amaze her. she doesn’t think nature will ever  _ stop _ amazing her. sometimes she thinks about what it would be like to burn it all down, but most of the time she thinks it should just be left to flourish on its own.

they come across phil’s old house first. all three clearly recognize it as the horses slow to a stop, niki and ranboo pulling ahead a little bit. tubbo and quackity look anxious. tommy looks terrified.

phil throws the door open a moment later, and then tommy is flying off the horse, straight into phil’s arms. tubbo and quackity hang back, clearly unsure, until phil beckons them forward. tubbo is there a moment later, and phil is just holding them, holding them, holding them. when he finally lets go he shakes quackity’s hand warmly.

and then techno’s there, stepping out of the house, and niki can see the way tubbo and quackity both want to start back, but don’t. they don’t flinch when they see him, and she’s so, so proud of them for leaving, for doing what they needed to do to recover.

“tech-no-blade!” tommy says loudly, and he almost looks like he’s going to go in for a hug, but he stops himself.

“heh?” techno says, but he’s grinning, and he reaches out to ruffle tommy’s hair. he nods to both tubbo and quackity, who nod back.

they go to l’manberg shortly after, tommy loudly filling techno and phil in on everything that happened to them. tubbo and quackity continue laughing with ranboo, and niki leads all seven of them to the center of the city. there are people watching them, whispering, and fundy and eret are both waiting when they make it to the white house.

“eret!” tubbo yells, breaking into a sprint. he grabs niki’s hand on the way and charges at their older brother figure, knocking all three of them into a huge group hug. past tubbo’s shoulder niki can see quackity and fundy pounding each other on the back, tommy jumping on the fox hybrid a moment later.

“there’s only one thing left to do,” niki says with a grin after everyone has been re-acquainted. as if on cue, wilbur is there, hovering over her shoulder, grinning sheepishly at the rest of the group.

“hi, guys,” he says carefully. “welcome back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, comments/kudos/etc are Always appreciated!!!


	10. like he ever had something to say (and i’ll say)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> before the last /technical/ chapter begins, if you enjoyed this story, maybe consider user subbing! i've got a lot more fluff planned so if you enjoyed this story it would mean a lot to me :)   
> (according to archive statistics only a small percentage of you are user subbed- okay okay i'll leave)

there is silence, for just a moment.

“wilbur,” tommy says, and he’s reaching out before he pulls back. tubbo clutches one arm and tommy grabs his hand, and suddenly everyone is just staring, staring, staring.

“well,” niki says, drawing the attention to her. “since everyone is here, and everyone knows what i’m planning on doing- now’s as good a time as any to go over the plan.”

“now?” wilbur asks, almost panicked as his head swivels toward her. “right now?”

“we can’t do it right now,” she says quickly. “but soon.”

“niki,” techno says quietly. “what exactly is the whole process for bringing him back?” everyone else looks just as curious, considering she’s told very few people the total amount of effort this is going to take.

and here it is. the moment of reckoning. they’re all just staring, staring, staring, and she can practically hear her heart beating.

“we wait for it to storm,” she starts. “i’ve got a trident with special enchantments on it for channelling lightning down. it’ll restart his heart, and then i have specialty regeneration potions for keeping him alive once he’s back. as for getting him to a physical form, i- i’ve been studying for months now. years. i have books, and spells, and-”

“years?” wilbur asks. he’s looking at her in disbelief- they all.

“i’ve wanted to bring you home from the second you left,” niki confesses, and it feels like her heart is breaking all over again. “i just- after everything we’ve been through, and i-”

she cuts herself off by putting a hand over her mouth. ranboo is at her side immediately, wrapping his arms around her protectively, and fundy and eret are both there a moment later, telling her to breathe.

so she breathes.

and she looks back at wilbur, stares his ghost dead in the eyes, and says,

“i know what i’m doing, and i know it’ll work.” she just wants to get it out now, to spill it all, so she does. 

“and dream would let me,” she continues, in a bit of a rush now. “because... because the last step is a life for a life. i have- i still have three lives left.”

“what?” phil says sharply.

“i should’ve died under schlatt’s regime,” she continues. “i was leading that rebellion in your wake, wilbur, and he nearly killed me so many times- i should’ve died. and you shouldn’t have, your second death shouldn’t have happened. it’s a trade off. a death that shouldn’t’ve happened for a death that should’ve.”

“niki,” wilbur says again. “i’m not letting you- letting you  _ sacrifice a life _ for me.”

“if you really, really don’t want me to, i won’t,” she says. “but just know that-  _ i _ want to. i’m bringing everyone home, wilbur, and that includes you.”

they look at each other for a moment, and there are tears in both of their eyes.

“if you’re sure about this,” wilbur says slowly, his voice low. “i’ll let you. but only if it’s what you really want, and not because you feel like you have to.”

and ender damn it, it  _ is _ what she really wants. she wants her best friend back, and here, warm and solid and real. she wants to be able to hug him again, wants to hear him play his guitar, wants to hear his voice without the ghostly quality. she wants to give him back the coat she’s been wearing since he died. she knows everyone else wants it, too, and it’s a sacrifice she’d be willing to make, again and again and again.

“it’s what i really want, wil,” she says, and he nods.

the others don’t look as pleased. fundy grips her hand. eret keeps one arm wrapped around her shoulders. tubbo dives forward and pulls her into a hug, and she hugs him back.

“you’re positive?” he whispers.

“i’m positive,” she replies.

it takes three days for a thunderstorm to come. wilbur doesn’t dematerialize once. he has a long talk with tommy that lasts nearly four hours, and when they’re done niki hugs tommy tight and doesn’t mention how red his eyes are.

everyone stays around the white house. fundy gives an official tour of the new l’manberg to welcome them back. others stop by to say hello; quackity disappears with sapnap and karl for nearly a full day and comes back with the biggest smile niki’s ever seen; puffy and hbomb find eret and hold a huge party in the old castle that they’ve been maintaining just in case he ever returned; phil takes wilbur, techno, tommy, tubbo, and fundy for a family day out.

and on the third day the thunderstorm comes, and niki declares it time. they gather around wilbur’s grave, because where else would be a fitting place to do it? they’re all there, ready to be reunited at last. and as she pulls the ancient tomes out of her bag, she can feel the god of the world watching over her.

the books are written in an ancient language that she’s painstakingly learned to speak. she recites spell after spell, and wilbur stands over his grave, and slowly, his grey form begins to get more color. there are five spells per death, three deaths, and at the end of the fifteenth spell, wilbur’s body falls to the ground.

there isn’t a big flash of light, no show to put on. there’s only a ghost one second and a body the next, collapsed on the ground, bleeding from three separate life-ending injuries, and niki hands the book off to ranboo standing next to her and takes her trident from techno.

as if on cue, there’s a strike of lighting. she raises the trident high in the air and cries out, “get back!” the gathered group backs up a bit as lightning fills the trident, and she can feel her arm getting heavier with the pressure of it.

“niki!” tubbo yells, and she realizes the burning feeling in her arm isn’t from holding the weight of the trident, it’s from the lightning dancing across her skin. she tells herself it’s fine as the blast of electricity stops, and there only sound is the wind whipping her hair back and forth, the rain pattering against the ground.

then she thrusts the trident toward wilbur, making sure to only use enough to restart his heart. she tosses the trident to the side and wilbur  _ sits up _ .

he sits up and immediately cries out in pain, the wounds from all three deaths coming back to him at once. niki’s about to dive toward him, and then she feels the burning pain from the lighting on her arm begin to dance across the rest of her skin as well.

“get him the regen potion!” she yells as she drops to her knees. “all three, make him drink them-”

“niki-” ranboo starts, dropping down next to her. she can see people surrounding wilbur as she keels backward, directly into a warm set of arms.

“breathe, niki,” eret says. “you’re alright, you did it-”

“i’ll be right back,” niki chokes out, and then everything goes black.

she opens her eyes and she’s in the void. it’s not the in-between, not quite, it’s still part of dream’s world. but she’s standing on air, there’s nothing but sky, and a moment later dream appears before her.

“a life for a life,” she says. “isn’t that the deal?”

“it is,” dream replies. “you’ve never died before, but i’m required to ask- would you like to respawn, or go to the in-between?”

“i’d like to respawn,” she says immediately.

“you have two lives left, niki. wilbur has one. use them wisely.”

“thank you, dream.”

dream is powerful, but so is she. and dream is realizing this, now. they both believe attachment is the most important thing in the world. but she doesn’t see it as a weakness, she sees it as a strength, and that’s the difference between the two of them.

an unspoken agreement passes between them. dream will leave them alone. he’ll let them live in peace, or he’ll have her to deal with. and she doesn’t think he wants that, because just as easily as she brought everyone together in a time of peace, she can bring them together in a time of war.

dream nods to her, once, and she nods back. and then she can feel herself returned to her body, because the god of the world let her have this, let her have her respawn point be reset to the same place she died in.

she comes back to life with a gasp. it’s no longer raining. she’s still in eret’s arms, and ranboo is gripping one of her hands. her arm itches, the whole right side of her body, and when she looks over there are little lightning scars covering her skin. one death.

“she’s back!” eret cries.

she grins at ranboo, who dives forward to hug her, and tubbo is there a moment later. they pull her up and she sees wilbur, still on the ground, his wounds healed. he’s wrapped in phil and techno’s arms, and tommy and fundy have both buried themselves in wilbur’s grip, and all of them are beaming.

“how long was i out?” she mumbles, and tubbo hugs her tighter.

“too long,” he says.

“maybe five minutes,” ranboo says. “your body didn’t disappear, it was weird-”

eret helps her as she stands up, a bit unsteady on her feet, and wilbur half-shoves everyone off of him and rises at the same time.

“niki-” he starts, arms open, and she slams into him.

“wil!” she cries, and he wraps his arms around her and holds her tight and this feels  _ right _ . it feels so, so right, she has her best friend back, he’s here and he’s alive-

it takes her a moment to realize she’s crying, and then she looks up and he’s crying, too, but they’re both smiling.

“hi,” he says softly. “welcome back.”

“same to you.”

and she buries her face in his chest and she can feel everyone surrounding them and they’re all back, they’re all here, they’re all home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter will be the epilogue :)


	11. -coming home. i’m coming home!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as promised, here is the epilogue! thank you all so, so much for vibing through this story with me. i appreciate your constant support!!!!

it has been exactly four years since wilbur pressed a button and destroyed his symphony.

it’s been less than one since niki brought them all home. over time, gradually, they slipped off again, but there was one thing different this time: they all came back. eret splits their time between their kingdom and dream’s world. there are more pathways in the nether, leading to tommy and tubbo’s house and to quackity’s nation. phil and techno go back and forth between other worlds and dream’s, and wilbur-

wilbur spends his time in the white house, trailing niki like a ghost. a very friendly, very talkative, very excited ghost. he and ranboo become fast friends, which surprises niki a little bit, but they have a lot in common (fear of losing their minds being a defining factor). he and fundy have gotten closer and closer to repairing their relationship. and niki’s been able to hug her best friend whenever she wants.

she tries to give him back his coat. he tells her to keep it.

“i think it’s cursed when it’s on me,” he says. “you’ve worn it for years and you haven’t gone mad.”

niki keeps the coat.

when the next election comes around, niki, ranboo, and fundy have a long talk. niki likes being the vice president, sure, but she’s also done a lot for l’manberg. she’s helped write their symphony from the podium, and now she’d like to go back to doing it from the gardens.

fundy runs for re-election with ranboo as his vice president. they win, of course, completely uncontested. they’re all gathered for the victory, and they’re all there to hear fundy give his speech.

they’re gathered again on the fourth anniversary of l’manberg’s explosion. the celebration is insane, with all of pogtopia home, and this year, niki gives a speech. she steps onto the podium with fundy and ranboo behind her, and she meets the eyes of all her best friends sitting in the front row. off to the side, puffy flashes her two thumbs-up. niki takes a deep breath.

“a year ago, i decided to bring my best friends home.”

they’re all watching her. she takes another breath.

“you may know them as the people that saved l’manberg. the people that destroyed l’manberg. the people that left and returned and are gathered here right now.”

she takes another breath. and another, and another, and another, and she just keeps breathing, she just keeps going, and her heart keeps beating. her best friends are watching her and she is breathing and there is lightning all over her skin and she is okay.

“a long time ago, my best friend had a dream. he wanted to compose a symphony, but it was destroyed before it could be completed. as you all should know by now, that symphony was l’manberg. that symphony still is l’manberg.”

she looks out at the rest of the audience. on one of the highest towers, she sees a figure, and she thinks it might be dream. and she smiles.

“wilbur said that his symphony would be forever unfinished. and he’s right. this symphony is never going to be finished, because no matter what happens, we keep going. our story keeps being written, by all of us. how can you finish a symphony if you’re constantly singing?”

she meets wilbur’s eyes. he’s beaming.

“a year ago, i decided to bring my best friends home. and i did, as you know- and they’re all here now. they’re all watching me as i talk, and- i’m getting away from myself. the point is- the point is, we’re healing. and we’re not healed yet. it’s a long road of recovery, and we’re all walking it together. everyone in this nation is walking it together.”

tubbo is practically bouncing in his seat. tommy is grinning. quackity flashes a peace sign, and niki thinks she can see a glimmer of a ghost behind him. she thinks of schlatt and everything he did and knows that in the end, it doesn’t matter, because  _ they’re still here _ .

“and in the end, we are composing another symphony,” she says. “we are not composing the symphony that wilbur wrote. we are composing something new entirely. we each have our notes, and our lyrics, and our melodies and harmonies and the grand theme of our symphony is this: freedom.”

techno doesn’t like government. but he’s standing at the back of the crowd anyways, philza at his side, and they’re both watching her and they both look proud. eret’s got a crown on their head and no sunglasses in sight and they look proud. and niki knows if she turns back now, fundy and ranboo will both be grinning at her and they will look proud and she feels pride, at what she’s saying, because her words are true.

“l’manberg is a nation founded on freedom. freedom from oppression. freedom from tyranny. freedom from the nightmares that haunt our dreams and the ghosts that walk our streets. we are l’manberg, and we are free, and our symphony is far from finished.”

the crowd cheers. they’re on their feet. she steps back from the podium and fundy hugs her tight and everything is right. she has brought them all home, and they are happy.

she vowed to bring them all home even if it killed her. and it did kill her; she has the scars to prove it. but they are here, they are healthy, and they are happy. they are on the road of recovery.

there is the roar of the crowd in her ears. fundy pulls back and he’s saying something and grinning and she’s grinning and everything is okay. 

she breathes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments/kudos/user subs are always, always, always appreciated <3

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Dearest sister](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29361546) by [sassyandlost](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sassyandlost/pseuds/sassyandlost)




End file.
